Welcome to the Economics DA component of the Training for Graduate Teaching Assistants

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Welcome tothe Economics DA component of the
Training forGraduate Teaching Assistants
Our Aim To provide Top-quality Teaching in a
Happy and Friendly Environment
If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the
men to gather wood, divide the work and give
orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast
and endless sea. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,
The Wisdom of the Sands, 1948
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Plan

• Introductions
• Some first thoughts
• Pedagogy
• Responsibilities of
• Course Co-ordinators
• Tutors
• Types of Tutorials in Economics
• Preparation for Tutorials
• Office Hours
• Missing classes
• GTA allocation

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Introductions

• Nick Weaver Room 3.014
• Teaching Fellow
• Formerly
• Teaching Assistant, Research Assistant, Research
  Associate
• Programme Tutor BA Econ.
• Co-Director on the Development Studies Stream on
  the BA Econ
• Personal Tutor BEconSci
• GTA Co-ordinator
• Qualifications
• BA Development Studies (UEA)
• PG Diploma Economic Development (Man)
• MA Development Economics (Man) 1990
• No PhD. Started but gave up!

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Current and Past Teaching

• 1st Year
• Introduction to Development Studies (LT)
• Computing (LT)
• Economic Principles (T)
• UK Economy Micro - Macro (LT)
• Applied Economics (LT)
• Studying Economics (LT)
• Introductory Maths and Stats (T)
• Advanced Maths and Stats (T)
• 2nd Year
• Stats (T)
• Microeconomics (T)
• Macroeconomics (T)
• Business Economics (LT)
• Development Economics (LT)

• 3rd Year
• Development (LT)
• Business Economics (LT)
• International Trade (LT)
• PG Diploma
• Development (LT)
• Introduction to Econometrics (LT)
• MSc
• International Trade and Capital Flows (LT)
• Applied Development Economics (T)
• Macro Policy for Development (T)
• PhD Computer training - PCGive, Stata, Microfit

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Initial guiding principles

• To encourage the delivery high quality economics
  teaching
• Thinking about
• Process of learning
• Process of teaching
• Best way to enjoy it
• Love, enthusiasm and interest in the subject
• Enjoy the teaching

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• Also some questions
• Who are your students?
• How are they streamed?
• What else are they studying?
• Some choices
• give students what they want or give appropriate
  academic guidance?
• answers or how to answer?
• control or encourage/inspire appropriate work?

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Variation in students

• backgrounds
• abilities and experience
• degrees
• learning styles

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Backgrounds

• Home/Overseas
• Language ability
• Public School/Private School
• Abilities
• Qualifications
• A level, IB, Foundation years
• range of subjects
• Streaming
• 1st year A, AS level maths, A level Economics 1st
  year
• 2nd year in Quants. Only
• Problem for 2nd and 3rd year teaching
• How much to presume/do?

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Degrees

• BA Econ. 800 students ABB (AAB)
• Econ. ? Economics
• Econ. Economic and Social Studies
• Other SoSS Degrees
• B.Econ.Sci. 60 students ABB A level maths
• BSocSci Sociology 60
• BSocSci Politics 60
• BSocSci Anthropology 40
• PPE 60
• Other Non SoSS
• IBFE International Business Finance and Economics
  (50 students)
• EHE Economic History and Economics
• Other MHE Modern History with
  EconomicsCombined StudiesEuropean Studies,
  Environmental Studies Accounting and information
  business systems ABIS Language and Business
  Geography Free choice Physics, Maths .

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BA (Econ.) 800 students

• Common (?) 1st year
• with choice to specialise in 2nd / 3rd years
• Streams
• Accounting and Finance
• Business Studies
• Development Studies

• Areas of specialisation (single joint)
• Economics
• Accounting and Finance
• Politics
• Development Studies
• Sociology
• Criminology
• Social Anthropology
• Economic History

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An Exercise

• You are a BA Econ student entering the first
  year.
• What units would you choose to do in your three
  years?
• Assume you want to specialise in economics
• Purpose of the exercise
• get a feel for
• The range of courses
• The number of units
• The structure of the degree

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Some questions

• When selecting courses why do people choose them?
• Why are some courses compulsory?
• If students are doing a course they didnt choose
  are their implications for how they study?
• Particular Problem
• Maths
• Theory

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Non-qualification based differences

• Levels of understanding
• Problems trying to improve understanding
• Think about these
• diagnosing
• addressing

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Learning styles

• Two accounts of differences in "styles" of
  learning.
• 1. "differences in learning" f (differences
  in learners processing skills and routines.)
• 2.. conceptions of learning
  (phenomenographic)

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Differences in styles of learning 1 .

• differences in learning f (differences in
  learners processing skills and routines)
• assumes a preference for one learning style
• effective learning more likely if individual
  preferences match teaching style
• gt
• useful to provide variety of teaching methods in
  a class
• four types of learning style
• activist
• reflective
• theorist
• pragmatic

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1.1 Activist style

• Learns best
• new experiences/problems, etc.
• short tasks, games, competitive teamwork tasks,
  etc.
• excitement/drama/crisis and things chop and
  change - a range of diverse activities
• a chance of "limelight",
• e.g. leading discussions, giving presentations
• involved with other people,
• e.g. bouncing ideas off them, solving problems
  as part of a team.
• Learns least
• given a passive role,
• e.g. listening to lectures, reading,
  explanations
• not directly involved
• need to assimilate, analyse and interpret lots of
  data
• engage in solitary work,
• i.e. reading, writing, thinking on their own
• asked to repeat the same activity over and over
  again.

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1.2 Reflector style

• Learns best
• encouraged to watch/think/chew over activities
• able to listen/observe a group
• asked to reach decisions in own time
• no pressure and tight deadlines.
• Learns least
• forced into the limelight
• worried by time pressures or rushed from one
  activity to another
• pitched into doing something without warning.

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1.3 Theorist style

• Learns best
• in structured situations with clear purpose
• need to understand and participate in complex
  situations
• have time to explore the associations and
  interrelationships between ideas, events and
  situations.
• Learns least
• participate in situations that are unstructured,
• where ambiguity and uncertainty are high,
• e.g. open-ended problems
• faced with a hotchpotch of alternative/contradicto
  ry techniques without exploring any in depth
• subject matter appears platitudinous, shallow or
  gimmicky.

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1.4 Pragmatist style

• Learns best
• obvious links between the subject matter and set
  problem
• practising techniques with coaching and feedback
  
• given techniques applicable to real world.
• Learns least
• learning not related to an immediate need or
  relevance
• no practice or clear guidelines
• no clear/sufficient reward from the learning
  activity.

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Differences in styles of learning 2

• Differences in styles of learning conceptions
  of learning, (phenomenographic) approach
• may have more or less effective conception of
  learning
• gt possible to improve approach by altering
  teaching
• Evidence provided by this tradition suggests
• a deep approach to learning
• achieve better outcomes
• than
• surface approach to learning

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Deep approach to learning

• understand and seek meaning
• relate concepts to existing experience
• distinguish new ideas from existing knowledge
• critically evaluating determining key themes
  and concepts

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Surface approach to learning

• complete the task
• memorise information
• no distinction between new ideas and existing
  knowledge
• treat the task as externally imposed (as
  extrinsic)
• "Rote learning" is the typical surface approach

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A Strategic approach to learning

• getting high marks
• (uses bits of above)
• Are the two accounts of differences in "styles"
  of learning
• 1. "differences in learning" f (differences
  in learners processing skills and routines.)
• 2.. conceptions of learning
  (phenomenographic)
• mutually exclusive?

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Why one rather than another?

• Biggs, J. (1999) Teaching for Quality Learning at
  University. Buckingham Society for Research into
  Higher Education/Open University Press
• Surface approach
• characteristics of students
• e.g. misunderstanding requirements, anxiety
• characteristics of teaching
• e.g. providing insufficient time for activities
  emphasising coverage at the expense of depth
• Deep approach
• Signals provided about the way in which learning
  is assessed give rise to the idea of
• constructive alignment
• Assessment is also by praise and forms of
  interaction

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Should these views of learning styles and
approaches to learning have implications for
tutors?

• Experiential learning suggests
• varying the type of task in seminars to
  accommodate the innate preferences of different
  learners.
• Phenomenographic distinction (deep vs surface
  approaches to learning) suggests
• encourage all students to adopt a deep approach.
• Rewarding/praising deeper engagement
• Both suggest helpful to
• encourage students to develop greater
  self-awareness of their approach to learning.
• how they learn can increase their motivation and
  achievement in a whole range of activities.

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Draft SoSS Guidelines for Module Co-ordinators

• GTAs attached to cours co-ordinator
• GTAs will be given the utmost support
• very high level of support.
• GTAs not required to design classes
• deliver ones designed by the module
  co-ordinators.
• Responsibility to brief GTAs on matters specific
  to the module,
• to oversee the GTAs teaching activity,
• to provide the materials necessary for the
  successful discharge of their teaching
  responsibilities and
• to monitor and review their teaching.

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• module co-ordinator should assess the GTAs
• if so requested by the department
• report should be given to the students research
  supervisor on the performance of the student.
  This need only be a brief note, or the completion
  of a short form.
• Course convenors responsible for monitoring all
  GTA-marking
• GTAs should not have sole responsibility for
  marking any work or examinations that contribute
  to the students assessment.
• GTA should have recourse
• DA Director of Undergraduate Studies
• SoSS Director of Undergraduate Studies

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Provisional SoSS Guidelines on GTAs
responsibilities

• Preparing sufficiently to carry out the stated
  aims and objectives of the tutorial/exercise
  class which you are leading.
• Facilitating and/or leading group discussions,
  either in small groups or with the whole class
• Facilitating discussion around the theme of the
  class/tutorial
• Ensuring the smooth running of equipment
  necessary to achieve the aims of the
  class/tutorial (e.g. computers, software
  packages).
• Obtaining from the course lecturer, or providing,
  suitable additional teaching materials as
  relevant to the stated aims of the class/tutorial
  
• Aiming to maintain a conducive atmosphere and
  environment for the achievement of the aims of
  the class/tutorial

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• Keeping records of student attendance using the
  Campus Solutions system
• Marking and providing appropriate feedback to
  students for their essays or assignments
• Reporting briefly on the attendance and work of
  each student at the end of each semester
• Holding an office hour once a week or once a
  fortnight as appropriate for each course,
  notifying tutees accordingly
• Distributing, and arranging for return of, course
  evaluation questionnaires for each tutorial group
  taught
• Report to lecturers any problems occurring (e.g.
  attendance, facilities, behaviour)

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Types of Tutorials in Economics

• Size
• Large Maths/Stats classes
• 30
• Smaller 2025
• What goes on in them?
• Substantial Variation
• Subject to subject
• Lecturer to lecturer
• Tutor to tutor

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Preparation for Tutorials

• (My own approach)
• Attendance at lectures
• very useful - things that are not clear
• saves time
• Do the questions
• Any difficulties gt things to explain
• Chat with colleagues
• fellow tutors
• lecturer
• supervisor

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• Don't just read out answers you may have been
  given.
• Prepare material - OHPs or practice writing
  whiteboard.
• Check room/equipment bookings etc well before
  time
• Who is in charge of the room?
• Materials
• 3rd Floor or UG Office

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In tutorial (Be on Time!)

• First Tutorial
• Introduce yourself - who you are - where you can
  be found, your background, academic interests
  etc...
• Introduce the course
• by the end of the course
• what they have to do
• how they should go about doing it
• All classes
• Take the register Campus solutions
• Get them to call out their names and tick them off

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• Introduce the topic(s)
• "by the end of the class.....!"
• Middle bit - a wide variety of approaches
• the worst (most common) is reading out OHPs
• Ideally variety of things
• You talking/doing things at the board/OHP
• "Them" talking/doing little tasks in little
  groups
• Interaction of the whole group
• QAs
• NB not just going through answers
• End
• Recap
• What should be done before next meeting?
• How to get in touch with you?

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Example 1 ECON10081

• Tutorial 1 Firms Objectives
• What are firms main objectives?
• Compare price and output for a profit maximising
  firm with those of an output maximiser.
• Can we reduce firms behaviour to a simple single
  objective function?

HOW WOULD YOU RUN A TUTORIAL ON THIS?
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An Example 2 ECON20351

• SUPPLY
• Given two factors of production, derive a set of
  short-run cost schedules on the assumption that
  the physical returns to the variable factor
  diminish continuously as the factor is applied.
• Explain the derivation of a short-run supply
  schedule for a perfectly competitive industry.
• Explain the derivation of a long-run supply
  schedule for a perfectly competitive industry.
• Which one of the following statements describes
  an expansion path for the case of a homothetic,
  non-homogeneous production function?
• A) The expansion path will be strictly convex to
  the origin.
• B) The expansion path will be non-linear.
• C) The expansion path will be linear and will
  display constant returns to scale, as it will
  along each
• and every possible expansion path..
• D) The expansion path will be non-linear with
  increasing returns to scale.
• E) The expansion path will be linear.

HOW WOULD YOU RUN A TUTORIAL ON THIS?
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Office Hours

• Ralf
• booked one of the ground floor rooms in which
  GTAs can organise their office hours.
• As last year he has a schedule on my office door,
  such that GTAs can ensure that not more than 2
  GTAs have their office hour at the same time

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Missing classes

• If you have to miss a class
• Try to find a solution
• Always tell the course co-ordinator

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GTA Allocation

• Done on the basis of
• Last year
• Preferences
• Perceived abilities
• Just in time
• Nearly a Complete mess

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Thank you for your kind attention and good-bye!